CHAPTER 215: CHAPTER-215

This wasn’t just a new world. This was a jungle. A brutal forest where mercy did not exist, where only the strongest survived. And the only rule that mattered... was kill, or be killed.

Kaya pressed her lips together, a bitter laugh caught in her throat. She was a soldier. Her hands had been soaked in blood, she had ended lives without flinching. She had lived through war, stared death in the eye. And yet—even with her gun in hand, if two or three beastmen came at her at once, she wasn’t sure she could leave alive.

And then another thought crashed into her, sharp and unrelenting.

If she had been pulled into this world, then surely others had too. Other humans. But what chance would they have? Not everyone was armed. Not everyone was trained. What about an office worker, a student, a teacher... a family? Normal people, with no skills beyond their everyday lives. How long would they last before the jungle swallowed them whole?

The realization detonated in her mind like a bomb.

She couldn’t survive here. Not alone.

She needed someone powerful, someone who could tear through this cruel world where rules meant nothing. And for now, that someone was Veer. Without him, death wouldn’t even announce its arrival—it would simply take her.

After flying the whole day, exhaustion pulled Veer under quickly. He chewed a few wild fruits, stretched out along the branch, and within minutes, he was asleep—his breaths slow, steady, almost careless.

But Kaya couldn’t.

She sat on the thick branch, knees drawn up, eyes locked on the forest below. From up here, it looked so peaceful, so breathtakingly beautiful... but she knew better. Beneath that quiet green stretched nothing but danger.

Her gaze shifted to Veer. He slept soundly, as if nothing in this cruel world could touch him. She envied that. Even with her eyes burning, she couldn’t bring herself to blink long enough to rest. Her hand held a fruit—round and red, like an apple, but larger, heavier. She stared at it for a long time before finally taking a bite. Sweet. Almost too sweet. But no matter how much sugar coated her tongue, it couldn’t wash away the bitterness rising in her throat.

A rustle broke the silence. Kaya stiffened and turned her head. Through the shadows, she spotted a deer-like beast, thin legs trembling as it sprinted, heart in its eyes. Behind it, a cybertooth. A predator from another age—half lion, half tiger, its massive fangs catching the moonlight as it lunged forward.

The chase was short. The deer fought, stumbled, tried to run again, but within moments, the cybertooth’s jaws clamped down. The forest swallowed its cries, leaving nothing but silence and blood.

Kaya’s chest tightened. Without realizing it, a single tear slid down her cheek, landing on the fruit in her hand. She blinked, startled, and brushed her face with her fingertips. Wet. Red. She didn’t even understand why the tears had fallen. But when she wiped them again, her eyes were dry, emptied—like the forest had stolen the rest.

The night stretched on. Kaya sat there, unmoving, clutching the half-eaten fruit, watching the darkness breathe around her.

And then, at last, the world softened. Birds began to sing, their chirps carrying the light of dawn through the trees.

Veer stirred, stretching his arms with a lazy yawn.

"UMMMM..AYAH".

He blinked awake, amber eyes half-lidded, and turned toward her.

She was still sitting there, exactly where she’d been all night, a ghost of herself. In her hand, the fruit’s white flesh had turned brown, shriveled by the open air—forgotten, just like her chance at sleep.

Veer glanced at her and, for once, his voice softened.

"What happened?"

He took the apple-like fruit from her hand. Its white flesh had already turned brown, untouched for too long. His eyes trailed to her fingers, to the faint tension in her muscles.

"You haven’t eaten anything?"

"Not hungry," Kaya said flatly, her gaze still fixed on the forest floor.

Veer tilted his head, trying to shake the heaviness out of the air. "What’s this, sweetheart? Did you already fall for my charms? Spent the whole night staring at me, couldn’t even sleep?" he teased, smirking, expecting her to roll her eyes or throw the fruit at his head.

But she didn’t.

Kaya stayed quiet. No glare, no retort—just silence. Her eyes stayed locked on the greenery below, distant and unreadable.

Veer’s smirk faltered. For a moment, he simply stared at her. That wasn’t her.

By morning, after a few bites of dried jerky, they took to the skies again. But Kaya said nothing the entire flight.

And it gnawed at him.

Veer shifted, restless. What the hell is going on?

He knew Kaya wasn’t someone who held her tongue. She always argued back, always had fire in her words—even when she was angry, even when she was exhausted. But now... she was a shell of that woman.

For the first time since he’d met her, Veer felt uneasy.

Veer drew in a deep breath, chest swelling with mock drama, and sighed loudly into the air.

"Well, honey, you’re really lucky, huh? A handsome guy like me hugging you this tight. Do you even know how many women would kill for it?"

He shot her a sideways glance, grin wide and cocky, already waiting for her barked comeback. Normally, she’d snap something sharp, maybe roll her eyes and sneer, ’Of course I’m lucky, cursed every day that a bastard like you hasn’t kissed me yet.’

But Kaya didn’t even flinch. She just stared down at the endless forest below, her face blank, her silence heavy.

The grin slipped from Veer’s mouth. His jaw ticked, teeth grinding.

What the hell?

When they finally landed in a clearing, Veer busied himself with a fire, the silence gnawing at him more than hunger ever could. Sparks rose, wood cracked, but she still said nothing.

He couldn’t take it.

Suddenly he threw the firewood aside with a sharp thud.